In a variety of commercial and military applications, movement of rotating structures is tracked for various reasons. For example, data corresponding to various types of movement associated with aircraft, boats, missiles, satellites, space stations, spacecraft, submarines, and the like, may be tracked for use in calculating position or orientation of vehicles, structures, projectiles, and/or other entities.
For example, in some applications such as an aileron of an aircraft, rotation of the aileron, relative to a wing or other aircraft structure, can be measured to control and track movement of the aileron. Data corresponding to the measured movement can be used to calibrate controls, track movement of the structures, and/or for other purposes.
The measurements detected and/or tracked can be transmitted to a control system, tracking system, and/or other entities, if desired. Data corresponding to the tracked measurements can be transmitted as current and/or as other types of optical or electrical signals to control systems and/or management systems. In some embodiments, the data is used to orient or position structures, for navigating and/or correction of navigation data, or for other purposes. For example, a commercial aircraft may include a dish antenna for providing network connectivity for the aircraft. During movement of the aircraft, the dish antenna can be maintained in a stationary position relative to a transmitter, though the commercial aircraft may move or rotate.
Also, the data can be used to track movement of the structures and/or platforms to which the structures are connected. For example, many modern watercraft, aircraft, and spacecraft include an inertial measurement unit for detecting and measuring movement of the watercraft, aircraft, and/or spacecraft. In these and other applications, the size, shape, and weight of the inertial measurement units can influence performance of the vehicles and/or the inertial measurement units. Many conventional inertial measurement units are of substantial size and weight. This aspect of conventional solutions is not conducive to use in some aerospace and other applications in which space and weight are substantial considerations.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.